


In your Arms

by Schattengestalt



Series: Let Me Love You [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Sleepy Cuddles, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28734909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schattengestalt/pseuds/Schattengestalt
Summary: Sherlock wants to sleep, but Jim keeps him awake.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty
Series: Let Me Love You [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814503
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	In your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, it's been so long, since I last updated this series. I know, I promised a new story every month, but as you might have noticed, that won't happen.^^" I'll try, not to keep you waiting too long, for the next story, though. :)

### In your Arms

A foot nudged his calf. Sherlock shifted his legs and buried his nose deeper into the pillow.  
God, but he was tired. Three days, of working non-stop on a kidnapping case, had taken its toll and Sherlock only wanted to sleep now. Preferably, for the next couple of days. He was already half asleep, when the mattress all but jumped, as a body threw itself on it.

"Fuck, Jim!" Sherlock turned his head, to glare over his shoulder at his lover. He could only make out a man-sized bundle of blankets, in the darkness of the room, that didn't move as Sherlock cursed quietly at him.

His lover - after taking one look at Sherlock's exhausted face - had insisted, that they call it an early night and all but dragged him to bed. Until this point, Sherlock had only complained half-heartedly. He had been dead tired after all and Jim hadn't looked much more awake, after a busy work of planning and committing crimes.

Everything had been fine - more than fine, if he included their goodnight's kiss - until Sherlock had actually tried falling asleep. Usually, Jim was a deep sleeper, who didn't move around the bed at all. Sometimes, he tended to mumble some nonsense and one memorable time he had broken out in uncontrollable giggles, in the middle of the night, only to snore again a second later. Tonight though, it seemed that his lover had decided to trash the bed, if his erratic movements were anything to go by. Sherlock had lost count of how often he had been on the brink of sleep tonight, only to be startled awake by a kick to his legs or sudden movement.

Sherlock glared a little longer at his lover, who appeared to have gone back to slumbering peacefully and then turned back onto his side, with a huff. Hopefully, Jim had finally managed to work off, whatever excess energy he had possessed and they could both sleep now.

Sherlock bedded his head on the pillow and carefully arranged his legs underneath the covers, to keep them as far away from Jim's, while staying far enough away from the edge of the bed, to prevent falling out of it, in his sleep. He was only thankful, that they had decided on two blankets, instead of one to share, or Sherlock would have already laid shivering in the cold.

It was the last conscious thought that drifted through his mind before his eyes fell shut. Unrelated images came alive behind his closed eyelids, that only made sense in this strange world, that existed between sleep and wakefulness. Sherlock all but felt sleep settling slowly over him, as his limbs grew heavier and his head sank deeper into the pillow. He could practically taste the much needed rest, finally claiming him when...

"Holy fucking shit!" Sherlock jerked upright in bed, as adrenalin pumped through his veins, after a fist had collided with the back of his head.

Seconds passed by, as Sherlock pressed a hand to his chest, to will his racing heart to slow down. His body was trembling from a mixture of excess adrenalin and exhaustion. He was so tired, that it hurt and combined with the recent scare, Sherlock felt like he was about to throw up, any second now.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Sherlock hissed in Jim's direction, just as his lover threw himself onto his stomach and made the mattress jump again.

Sherlock shook his head in annoyance and took a deep steadying breath, before he reached out a hand and grabbed his lover's shoulder. His intention had been to shake Jim awake and tell him to sleep on the studio couch, in the room upstairs. And while Sherlock had expected his lover to come awake with a start - and probably a curse on his lips - he was completely unprepared for the pained scream, that left his lover's lips, as he twisted away from Sherlock's hand. "No! Don't!"

Sherlock stared in shock at his lover, who had curled into himself underneath the blankets.

"Jim?" Sherlock carefully touched his lover's hair and while the reaction wasn't as volatile as the last one, the whimper that sounded from underneath the covers tore at Sherlock's heartstrings.

He reached one hand behind himself, to turn on the lamp on the nightstand, on the lowest level, to cast a soft light, that wasn't harsh enough, to startle someone awake. Because while Jim was now whimpering quietly, he was still very much asleep. Nightmare, his mind supplied helpfully and Sherlock rolled his eyes, at the obvious deduction. He should have arrived at the conclusion much sooner and he would have made the right connections, if he hadn't been so exhausted.

"Please," Jim shifted again in his sleep, but this time only to bring his arms up to hide his face, "No more! Stop!"

No, not hiding Sherlock realised with a sinking feeling, but protecting his head and face. Dear God, what... No, this wasn't the time to deduce, what kind of nightmares were plaguing his lover. His priority should be to wake him up... but how?! For a second Sherlock was tempted to simply turn on all the lights or to shake Jim awake, but he dismissed both ideas as too cruel. If Jim reacted to a touch to his shoulder with a scream, Sherlock didn't even want to imagine, what he would do, if Sherlock was to shake him awake. This really only left one option for him.

"Jim!"

"No, leave me!"

"Jim, you are safe," Sherlock spoke as loud as possible, without yelling.

"Leave me alone!" Jim turned again and kicked out with his legs, when they got twisted in the blankets, in the process. Sherlock's heart gave a twist at the sight.

"You are here with me, Jim!"

"Just please..."

Sherlock was just about ready to fling all precautions to the wind and just force his lover awake, after all. Waking up with a shock sounded better to him than being stuck in this terrible nightmare. One more try, Sherlock told himself. He would give it one more time, to wake Jim gently, before he turned to other measures. "You’re Jim Moriarty and I’m Sherlock Holmes. We are in bed together, at our flat, which is located on Baker Street. You are perfectly safe here."

Jim stilled.

Sherlock waited with bated breath for his lover to start trashing around again, but instead a broken whisper fell from his lips. "Sherlock?"

"Yes, Jim. I’m here." Sherlock exhaled in relief, as his lover detangled himself from the blankets and sat up in bed.

The relief was only short lived though, as Jim turned his head to face him and Sherlock noticed the streaks of tears on his cheeks. Something hot and sharp twisted in his chest, when he realised that Jim had cried in his sleep, while Sherlock had cursed him for keeping him awake.

"Jim..." Sherlock whispered, unsure of what to say, when dark eyes flickered up to meet his.  
They were filled with enough sorrow, to drown all of humanity in it, as they blinked slowly at him.

"I’m sorry." Sherlock's eyes widened in disbelief, at the apology as Jim averted his eyes, to stare at the blanket in his lap.

OOO

Fuck it!

Jim clenched his hands into the fabric of the blankets, as he forced deep and calm breaths into his lungs. The images of the nightmare were still flickering through his mind, even as he tried to push them away. He didn't want to see their mocking faces. The hatred and envy in their eyes, as they surrounded him. One second away from making him pay, for being cleverer than them.

His breath stuttered in his chest and Jim bit down hard on his lower lip, as more tears welled up in his eyes. He wouldn't cry!

He might not have control over his body, while he was asleep, but he refused to cry while awake. There was no way, that he would give into this weakness. It had all been just a dream after all. These people couldn't hurt him anymore. They were gone.

Jim took a shuttering breath and almost managed to calm himself down, when the smirking face of his father floated before his mind's eye and he physically recoiled from it.

"Jim." His head snapped around to look at his lover. His terribly exhausted lover, who was kneeling on the bed next to him, with a worried expression on his face.

Hot shame coursed through Jim's body, as he took in the dark circles under Sherlock's eyes and the paleness of his skin. Jim hadn't suffered from a nightmare in ages, but of course he would experience one of his worst dreams, just when his lover badly needed his sleep.

"I’m sorry," Jim whispered for the second time and threw the blankets aside. He had just managed to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, when a gentle, but insistent hand on his shoulder halted his movements. "What are you doing?"

Jim's eyes flickered over his shoulder to Sherlock, who was hovering right behind him, before he averted his gaze again to stare at his trembling hands. "I’m going to sleep upstairs," Jim murmured quietly. It was the most sensible solution. This way at least one of them would get to sleep and maybe Jim would even get a couple of hours of rest himself. But even if he lay awake all-night or fought demons of his past until dawn, he wouldn't have to worry about keeping Sherlock awake.

"No." The grip of Sherlock's hand tightened on his shoulder, until it bordered on painful. "I won't let you leave."

"What do you plan on doing then?" Jim summoned the most teasing voice, that he could muster, under the given circumstances. "Do you want to tie me to the bed? No offense, but I doubt that you are in any condition to fully enjoy this experience right now. You would probably fall asleep on top of me." Jim turned sideward to smirk at his lover, but his expression fell, when Sherlock only met his poor attempt at sexual innuendos, with a worried look of his own.

"Look," Jim's shoulders sagged, "We’re both tired, but I will only keep you awake if I stay here." Jim ran a still trembling hand through his hair. "You are completely exhausted. You need to sleep."

Jim had expected Sherlock's hand to fall away from his shoulder, at that and for his lover to agree, that this was the best option. So it came as a complete surprise, when instead Sherlock's arms encircled his waist from behind and a stubbly cheek rubbed against his own, as his lover placed his chin on Jim's shoulder.

"You need sleep as well," Sherlock murmured and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Jim sighed quietly and forced himself to stay strong, even as everything in him screamed to lean back into Sherlock's embrace and allow his lover to hold him close. 

"But I won't get it tonight, but you have a chance to sleep, if I leave you alone." Jim would have chuckled at Sherlock's stubbornness, as his lover drew him further back onto the bed, if he weren't so exhausted. As it was, he only sighed inwardly, as Sherlock tried to get him to lie down again. "I tell you, I’ll keep you awake all night."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Jim's lips twitched up into a small smile, at the innuendo, only to have his expression turn serious again, when Sherlock pushed lightly at his shoulder for him to lay down.

"Your determination to keep me in bed would have been welcome, any other night, but it's really not an option now." Jim rubbed at his burning eyes with his hand. "Whenever I started the night with a nightmare, I couldn't sleep undisturbed for the remainder of it."

Jim knew that he had revealed more with this statement to Sherlock than he had ever dared to admit to any other living person, but he also trusted his lover to keep the information safe. Obviously, though, the new knowledge wasn't enough to convince his lover, to let him go, because Sherlock only pressed a tender kiss to his neck in reply.

"Have you ever shared a bed with someone, when you had one of your nightmares?" Jim felt himself stiffen and relax in equal parts, at the question. For one thing, he was thankful that Sherlock hadn't asked about the content of his dreams, since Jim was unwilling to recall the details of them. On the other hand though, the question reminded him of the one time, when one of his ex-lovers had all but kicked him out of the bed - and the flat - for waking him, while Jim had still been shaken from the nightmare.

"Why?" Jim pressed out through clenched teeth, as Sherlock started to rub soothing circles on his chest.

"Body contact to a beloved...to someone you trust, is supposed to calm you down. Maybe you could sleep, if I held you while you slept." Jim blinked stupidly down at the hand, that rested on his chest, as he tried to wrap his head around the foreign concept, of receiving comfort from his...

"Of course, I love you," Jim snapped as he recalled, how Sherlock had stumbled over part of his little speech. "As if I would be here, if I didn't. Don't be daft, it doesn't become you."

An amused, but at the same time, relieved chuckle, sounded next to Jim's ear. "I love you, too."

The words, although overused by humanity every day, still managed to let warmth bloom in Jim's chest. It had probably something to do with the fact, that it was the first time that he had heard them, directed at himself and known them to be true.

"And because I love you," Sherlock continued, in his deep calming voice, "I want to make sure that you are alright."

Jim sighed loudly. "You won't give up, will you?" Curls tickled his neck, as Sherlock shook his head. 

"Fine then." Jim gave up all resistance and allowed Sherlock to manoeuvre them both onto their sides, with his lover spooning him from behind.

"Content?" Jim murmured, without any heat as Sherlock dragged a cover over them both and pressed the whole length of his body against his. It was hard, to even pretend, to be mad at his lover, when he was holding Jim securely in his arms, as if to protect him from all harm.

"Very," Sherlock whispered against his ear and breathed a kiss to the exposed skin, right beneath it. "Sleep now."

Jim wanted to point out to Sherlock again, that it would be impossible for him to find sleep again tonight, but the words remained unsaid, as exhaustion shut his eyes. Jim could only snuggled closer against Sherlock, before he drifted off, into a deep and dreamless sleep.


End file.
